Andalusia!

So I just got the email telling me that I've been assigned to teach in the autonomous community of Andalusia! I am so happy because Andalusia was my first choice!









Andalusia is home to some of the best provinces and cities in Spain (well in my opinion anyway!)




There are eight provinces of Andalusia:



Andalusia is known for its Moorish -influenced architectural styles, bullfighting, and the flamenco. Seville is the capital of the province and is considered the artistic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain.

The average temperature in Andalusia throughout the year is over 61 °F. Average temperatures in the cities range from 59.2 °F in Baeza to 65.3 °F in Málaga. The coldest month is January and some parts of Andalusia experience temperatures as low as 43.5 °F. The hottest months are July and August, with an average temperature of 83.3 °F. Any way you look at it, the weather is basically perfect there...I can definitely deal with an average temperature in the 60's year round, might be a nice change from Florida's hot and humid 90+ temperatures in the summer.

I found a great website called Andalucia.com. At this site you can click on each province or city and it gives you background info, restaurants, attractions, etc.

I won't know specifically which city I'll be teaching in for another week or two but I hope it's somewhere on the coast!

Know your stuff!

Now that I've checked out some of the money saving options avilable abroad I think it's a good idea to familiarize myself with the actual country of Spain. I found a webpage on the CDC website that offers a ton of information on how to stay healthy while abroad and some necessary vaccines to get before traveling to western Europe.



I also found a great RSS feed called YourLifeInSpain which has great info on renting property, driving in Europe,great ways to immerse yourself in the cutlure, etc.

Personally I love eating food from different cultures, check out this video I found on youtube: It offers some local's take on traditional dishes and some great restaurants to check out while in Spain.





I should be getting news in the next week or so about which Spanish city I'll be moving to in September. I applied in November 2010 and now that the application process is coming to an end I am freaking out! I just want to know where I'm going already! :P

All aboard!

So I've been looking into this euro train stuff. I'm not used to taking trains anywhere (I doubt there's such a thing in Florida at this point) but after skimming through a couple websites it seems simple enough; just like using travelocity.com or something. I found this amazing website that tells you the how get the best priced train tickets, it's called How to buy cheap European train tickets.com. This page goes into a lot of detail about booking trains within certain countries, how far in advance you should book your travels, and special rates for students and children. The site even gives you a step by step guide on how to use some websites for booking. It's great!




Another good link I found through the Eurostar site is Latest Deals. If you click on the link it will list the latest and best deals for all the touristy tours your heart could possible desire.

I also found an RSS feed that provides constants updates on the special deals and promotional codes that can be used with the Rail Europe railway line.

As for airfare I found an RSS feed from 1800FlyEurope that offers packages and cheap flights in Europe.

I definitely plan on using these sites when I move to Spain, although I'm a little afraid they may encourage a ridiculous amount of traveling...some of the offers they're listing are just too good to pass up!

No tengo dinero....

As a soon to be self-supporting college graduate I will probably be one of the cheapest people ever. "No tengo dinero" means "I don't have money"...which I literally don't have. The only way I'm going to be able to afford this experience is through scholarships and the savings I've been able to stow away for the last four years. So this brings me to my next post, how can I be cheap as possible and still enjoy myself while abroad?

When living in Costa Rica I was lucky to have a great host family. They showed me the best and cheapest places to go, which cabs gave a good deal, what stores to go to, etc. Since I won't have this luxury in Spain (I'm living with another girl from America who has also never been to España)I will have to do the good-deal-finding myself. I did happen to come accross a great article with some very helpfull tips>> Money Saving Tips for Spain.

The article talks about the best way to avoid getting scammed in restaurants, exactly how many days in advanced to book a tran/bus ride, and how to find out where free tours are given. I was super excited to read that wine is incredibly cheaper in Spain as well.





Another big issue I need to look into is the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the euro. Last time I went to Europe I was not so thrilled with my credit card bills upon my return home...thinking you only spend $500 and then finding out you actually spend $800 is not a pleasant surprise. According to this article on CheapFlights.com using an ATM is your best bet. Also check out the Google Currency Converter. It'll make the math part of purchasing so much easier. If I had known about this tool when I was in Europe last time I would have saved myself a couple hundred dollars.

So these are just some useful tools when it comes to saving money while abroad. I still need to look the best way to travel while in Spain. I've got friends in England and Ireland I'll want to visit when I'm there and don't want to over pay to travel.

"Finding Myself" or something like that...

My name is Kate, I am a college senior in Florida. Because I don't know what exactly I want to do with my life, I will follow in the footsteps of so many people before me and move to Europe to "find myself." I have applied to teach English to Spanish students through Spain's Ministry of Education's Culture and Language Assistant Program. If you're in the same situation as me check it out and apply>> Teach in Spain.

I have been to Spanish speaking countries before, such as Costa Rica and Mexico and I am a Spanish major...but I wouldn't consider myself exactly fluent in the language. I'm not sure if any of you are aware but the most useful tool I have ever used as a Spanish major is Google Translate. Call it cheating if you will, but when you're trying to book a flight or fill out an application online in Spain, this translating tool will be your best friend, I promise!

In my application to the program we are allowed to list the three top provinces we would like to live in. My top three choices (in this order) were:

First choice: Andalusia (aka Andalucia depending on where you're from)



Second choice: Canary Islands



(if you're beginning to see a trend that's because there is one...I'm not too sure if I could ever live inland...)

Third choice: Basque Country




So these are the three destinations I might possibly end up. I'm applicant number 202 out of 2,000 or more, so my chances are pretty good. If for some reason I am not accepted into this program I've decided that I am moving to Spain anyways, at least for a few months. My next objective is to find out where all the sweet deals are in Spain, I'm talking airfare, trains, hostels, etc. So check back with me later to see what I find!